New drone footage shows LRT construction ‘final touches’

Ottawa’s transit boss John Manconi updated councilors on Confederation Line construction this week with the aid of a city-owned drone.

Presenting at the finance and economic development committee on Tuesday, Manconi described many of the stations receiving “final touches” including wayfinding signs, lights and speakers.

He highlighted Rideau Station, which faced direct setbacks from the sinkhole in 2016, as a “critical link” to achieving the revised November handover date from Rideau Transit Group. City councilors pressed Manconi to confirm that Nov. 2 date, and while he said he “likes what he’s seeing,” he stopped short of full commitment.

“I’ll give you that guarantee when I can give you that guarantee,” he said, adding that safety will be paramount before handing over the keys.

Alongside Rideau Station, the city is also monitoring the completion of Bayview and Tunney’s Pasture stations as key indicators of construction progress. Other milestones include end-to-end systems verification and the installation of fare gates and ticket vending machines.

Economically, the massive project has thus far generated 6.6 million hours of work and resulted in roughly $800 million in contracts to local suppliers, Manconi said.